BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Winning Is Cheap and Easy for Oakland A's

By JOE LAPOINTE

Published: September 2, 2002

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 1—
In the bright sunshine, with 37,676 fans chanting, cheering and pleading, the Athletics' Miguel Tejada hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning today as Oakland rallied to beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-5, and extend baseball's best winning streak since 1953.

Despite their dreary surroundings and their financial status, often playing at home in a half-empty stadium, the A's have managed to win 18 consecutive games, breaking the franchise record set by Connie Mack's 1931 team (when the franchise was in Philadelphia) and becoming the best team in the American League West and the hottest team in the major leagues.

With a payroll that is less than a third of the Yankees', the A's seem to contradict the argument of baseball owners who insist that a tax on high payrolls and increased revenue sharing are necessary to establish competitive balance.

The A's owner, Steve Schott, watched from his box today, interrupting a discussion of baseball finance to hail a play by Tejada at shortstop. In analyzing the collective bargaining agreement that averted a strike on Friday, Schott said he was surprised to learn that teams would no longer receive first-round choices in the amateur draft as compensation for losing top free agents. The A's received one draft pick each this spring from the Yankees, the Red Sox and the Cardinals for the signings of Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen.

''That is a major loss for small-market teams,'' Schott said. ''That's how we have built our franchise back up. Now, you could say, on the other hand, we're going to get a potful of money on the other side in revenue sharing to make us more financially competitive with the Yankees and the Red Sox and teams that are considered big-market teams.''

But how much is in the pot? Schott said the A's were receiving $10 million to $12 million annually in revenue sharing and that the figure could reach $18 million under the new formula. ''That would maybe get you an average player as a free agent, but it may not be enough to keep a Tejada, either,'' Schott said.

The A's roster is filled with young stars like Tejada, who is a candidate for the Most Valuable Player award; he has 31 home runs, 115 runs batted in and a .310 batting average. Pitcher Barry Zito, a 24-year-old candidate for the Cy Young award, will try for his 20th victory Monday against the Royals.

The A's have not lost since Aug. 12. The major league record of 26 consecutive victories was set by the 1916 New York Giants. The A.L. record of 19 was set by the 1947 Yankees and the 1906 Chicago White Sox. The 1953 Yankees had an 18-game streak, which no team had matched until today.

The A's lost Giambi to the Yankees over a no-trade provision, which Oakland would not include in its final six-year, $91 million proposal. In his final season in Oakland, Giambi received $4.1 million; he is making $11 million in his first season with the Yankees, who put a no-trade clause in his contract. The A's have recovered from all this to contend for their third consecutive playoff appearance. The Yankees have eliminated them the last two seasons.

Does Tejada think this is the year the A's can overcome their American League rivals and reach the World Series? ''Let's see, let's see,'' he said. ''We're more and more older. We've learned about this game more. We've got some veteran guys that are used to being in the playoffs. We should be a better team in the playoffs.''

Aside from the players, Zito suggested that the most valuable member of the franchise might be General Manager Billy Beane, who has fashioned the team with enlightened drafting and shrewd trades. ''I just hope Billy Beane stays with the A's,'' Zito said. ''As long as he's here, we're going to be good. I'm talking about draft, raising guys up through the system and trades. All these things Billy does are unbelievable.''

Third baseman Eric Chavez, who helped win Saturday night's game with three R.B.I., is one player who has emerged from Beane's system. ''This is fun,'' he said. ''Billy is one of the great minds in baseball. We really enjoy playing here. We know we're the bottom of the payroll, but these guys have a lot of pride. It's a good time to be playing for this organization.''

Chavez said one of Beane's key additions was Ray Durham, who, as the designated hitter, helped win Friday's game with four hits. ''We've never really had a guy who's had power and speed,'' Chavez said. They do now. Durham, a veteran with poise, came after Oakland's purge of several players in late May. Jeremy Giambi, Eric Hiljus, Frank Menechino and Carlos Pena were trimmed off the roster after the team fell to 19-24 on May 19. Beane said over the weekend that poor play required him to make changes.

In recent years, Beane has retooled his roster from a group of sluggers to one with great starting pitchers at a time when baseball is trying to shift the balance of power back to the mound. Mark Mulder is 16-7 and Tim Hudson is 12-9. Cory Lidle, acquired in a trade from Tampa Bay in January 2001, was 5-0 in August to improve to 8-9.